Strength Training in Middle Age and Beyond: Building a Margin Against Frailty

Aging is a complex process; even healthy aging is associated with a substantial decrement in our ability to deal with diseases such as influenza, type 2 diabetes, and the risk of falling. Any of these processes could significantly reduce health span or life span. For years the medical community has been looking for the magic medicine, often called the polypill, that will make it all better, a simple medication that could be taken once a day and reduce the risks of aging, improve the immune function, accelerate cardiac performance, and halt the degradation of the central nervous system.

There is no pill that can do that, but there is a process that can reduce the risk of frailty as we age and has far reaching effects in nearly every body system – strength and aerobic training!

The combination of strength and aerobic training has been demonstrated to grow muscle, improve balance, reduce the risk of heart disease, and grow neurons in areas of the brain associated with short and long-term memory. Strength training increases the density of bone, reducing the risk of fracture caused by a fall. Aerobic conditioning improves VO2, an index of mortality risk, and also improves the function of our immune system. Exercise, in general, improves the body’s ability to use glucose, reducing the risk of diabetes. And, perhaps more important, the combination of strength and aerobic training, improves cognition, improves mood, and reduces the risk of obesity.

The data supporting the above assertions are anatomical, biochemical, and epidemiological in nature. Strength training grows the hippocampus, increases all the neurotransmitters in the CNS, and increases neurotrophic growth factors. Yes, adults can make new neurons in areas of the brain that are important. Statistical analysis of aging populations that exercise regularly reveal reductions in hospitalizations and mortality.

The cost of frailty in the US over the next fifty years will be substantially greater than the defense budget. The risk to each of us individually is substantial.  The solution is not in a pill; it is on a bike and in a barbell.

Dr. Rae Brown, MD

Rae Brown is a StrongerLife member and an Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics and Anesthesiology at the University of Kentucky.

With training and experience in critical care and pain medicine, Rae recently served as the Chair of the FDA Advisory Committee on Analgesic Drug Products and as a Senior Advisor to the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.